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Brian Whatcott
 
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On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 04:28:58 GMT, Rich Hampel
wrote:

Sorry, Jax is totally correct. You are wrong.
Ethanol and water forms an azeotrope .... no 'free' water, just water
in an emulsified form .... beneficial to engine performance.


The first line should warn you that a mistake is in the offing.

Here are some definitions:
"azeotrope" a mixture of liquids with a constant boiling temperature
- because the vapor has the same composition as the liquid.

Contrast this with a mix of grain acohol (aka ethanol) and water:
when heated, the ethanol evolves preferentially: this process is
called "distillation"

An "emulsion" is a preparation of two immiscible liquids: though they
will not mutually dissolve, finely divided particles of one phase
remain stable in the other component, often with a milky appearance:
mayonnaise is a classic example.

The problem in the lines quoted is the confusion between water/oil or
water/gasoline mixes which CAN emulsify - and water/alcohol mixes
which DO NOT emulsify.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK